Don't Leave Me
by domiemarie
Summary: A completely routine trip to visit family has taken a turn for the worst. It ends with Elena in the hospital. Unfortunately, Elena is in a coma and is currently having an out of body experience. Damon is being pressured to make a decision and is having a hard time deciding between what he wants and what is best for Elena. Can Elena get back to Damon before a decision is made? AU AH
1. Chapter 1

**Hello readers! I would like to say welcome to this story. This was an idea that popped into my head and I just had to write it out. I couldn't help myself. While this is my second Delena story that I have posted, I will be going back and forth between them as well as my other story. If you guys are following me and have been wondering why I haven't posted the next chapter for Trust Me, I promise that it is about 80 percent complete and will be posted soon! But as some writers do, we have ideas and have the need to write them out. I would love to know what you think about the beginning of this. Should I continue it or leave it alone? Please leave a review and let me know what you think! This story will be all human...with a touch of the supernatural in here. And it is completely AU.**

 **ANYWAYS! I do hope you enjoy this first chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or the characters.**

 **Happy reading.**

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I had always thought my life had been perfect. I had everything I ever wanted in life. I had the dream job that I had wanted since I was a child and I lived in a house that was similar to my dream home. I even had the most amazing husband that meant the world to me. There was even going to be a new member of our little family. It was everything I ever wanted out of life. Sure there happened to be the regular moments where my life had its problems, but I honestly wouldn't trade it for the world. I just never expected for thing to take a turn for the worst as it had.

Have you ever had one those nightmares where you are wake up in some strange place and something chasing after you? When you run to find help, you find others around you but no matter how much you scream or wave your hands at them to get them to look at you, they never do. That is exactly what is happening to me now, minus the something chasing me. I just don't remember ever falling asleep.

The last thing I remember was being in the car as my husband drove towards my parent's house. We hadn't been on the road long, I'd say maybe ten minutes. We were on our way there to show my parents the most recent sonograph photos of precious little girl that I just couldn't wait to meet. It would only be a few more weeks until I got to see and hold her in my arms and we were completely excited. Her kicks on the drive there had kept the smile on my face. I remember looking down at my stomach and placing my hand over where I could feel her little foot pushing against my stomach. But that was the last thing I remember.

Now, I'm standing of to the side of a hospital room. There are several people surrounding the person in the bed, but no matter how many times I try to get their attention, they wont look my way. I never seen any of these nurses or even the doctor that was in the room before. But even though I had no idea who they were or why I was there, I wanted to get someone's attention. And while I try to get their attention, I never once looked at who they are working on.

Along with all the shouting and the sound of machines beeping away, I hear a loud bang on the window to the room. It was loud enough that it should have caught the attention of the others, but it never did. They were focused on the person in the bed. But the banging had caught my attention and I had walked over to the window. The blinds are closed and I can't get them to open. If it wasn't for a few of them being bent at the edge and leaving a gap, I never would have been able to see through the window. And what I saw looking through that gap, it had caused a gasp to leave my lips and stare at the piercing blue eyes that looked in.

I could see tears in those blue eyes as well as flashes of anger and worry that would take over for a moment. Every time I had seen a glimpse of the anger, there was another bang on the window. It was then that I realized what had been causing the banging sounds. It was a fist hitting the glass window. And each time the fist made contact with the window, it was as if the blows were getting weaker.

I raised my hand up to window in hopes that the owner of those piercing blue eyes would see me, but the eyes had just looked passed me. They never once actually looked at me as if I was standing there. And when I realized that I still couldn't be seen, I knew something was wrong. I turned my head back to see what those eyes had been looking at and it caused me to freeze in my spot. I now knew why no one could see me. I was having an out of body experience and the way things looked, it did not look good at all.

I shook my head quickly in disbelief. Even though my eyes could clearly see myself laying on the bed as several nurses and doctors worked on trying to revive me, I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to think that I was dying. I didn't want to even think about that there was a possibility that I was going to be leaving my family behind. I couldn't do that. Besides being in complete disbelief and trying to wrap the fact that I could possibly be dying, there was only one person I thought of in that moment and he was standing on the other side of that window.

I could feel my eyes getting blurry from the tears that were threatening to spill. Was it even possible for a ghost to cry? But I was. I turned back towards the window and looked back at the gap. This time, his eyes weren't peering into the window as he had been before. This time, I could see him. I could see him sitting across the hall with his head leaning back against the wall. His eyes were fixed on the window. I could see his lips moving, but I couldn't hear a single thing being said over the sound of the machines and the nurses and doctors talking.

"Damon." I said as I placed my hand through the gap and against the window. I wanted him to see me. I needed him to. Even though I had no idea what was going on with my body, I needed him to know that I was right there. I have never wanted something so badly as to be seen in that moment. But there was nothing I could do. There was no way I could physically get his attention. All I knew was that I was currently stuck out of my body hoping that those that were trying to revive me would succeed.

I have to admit that I am afraid. I am afraid of what this will lead to. There are only two options here that I can see. Its either I be revived or I die. And I am currently stuck in the in between. My name is Elena Salvatore and I am almost positive that I am a ghost standing in my own hospital room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello Readers! I would like to say thank you to those that have followed, favored, and reviewed the first chapter. It means a lot to me that you guys are wanting me to continue this story. After I had posted the first chapter, I actually started writing the second one and it came out so easily. So here it is. I was going to write this story completely in Elena's pov but I decided to switch back and forth between the two. So far, I feel like its working out better than just one pov.**

 **On to the reviews! With my stories, I will always answer questions or even comment on what you have left in the reviews. So, here it goes! :)**

 **nikkicinq92, Hopefully this wasn't to much of a wait for you. And I am glad that it has you hooked!**

 **Petrovaaa, I am glad you love the idea! While I can't give anything away for the ending, just know that I have an idea on how it will end, but we wont have to worry about that for a while.**

 **SuSU12 and Imarifirst, all will be explained with what happened to the baby in this chapter. Its nothing horrible, I promise.**

 **Thank you to those who left a review and I look forward to reading others!**

 **Disclaimer! I do not own the Vampire Diaries or the characters.**

 **Happy Reading!**

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 **Damon's POV**

There are moments in life when we are supposed to be the happiest. And even then we take a moment from time to time to stop and look back on what it was that got us to that point of happiness. I wouldn't trade my past moments for the world. They weren't all good, but they got me where I am today. With out those moments in life, I don't actually know where I would be right now. My life was never perfect until a few years ago. If you told me what my life was like now to me about ten years ago, I would have laughed in your face. I wouldn't have believed a single thing that was said.

Up until about five years ago, I had never thought life could be as good as it was now. I have to admit that I was the type of guy that did not have a single thing planned for my life. I went with what ever the day presented itself with. I was the black sheep of the family and mostly depended on my brother's help. But even then, there wasn't much he could really do to get me out of my living habits. No one really could. That was until I had met the most amazing woman. There must have been a time where I had set out some positive Karma that brought her to me. I just don't know what it was that lead her straight to me. With everything negative in my life, I shouldn't have been so lucky to meet her or even be with her.

Despite that she already had the perfect life and should have just left me at the bottom while she continuously climbed herself to the top of where she wanted to be, she didn't. She wanted to help me to find myself. Even when I had pushed her away and told her to leave, she would always stand her ground and do just the opposite. No matter what it was that I had done or continued to do, she'd look past all of it. Even when her friends had told her I was just going to drag her back down to the bottom, she continued to fight for me. Even though she had forgiven me for all the mistakes I had made while we were together and while I had made up for everything several times over, something tells me my past negative karma is finally catching up to me.

The past few minutes have felt like several hours that were just dragging on to no end. With each passing second, I grew more lost. There was no way to tell what was really going on in that room. I was stuck waiting in the hall and I felt completely hopeless. There was nothing I could do to make anything better. I couldn't be in there with her and now she was alone with a bunch of complete strangers. I couldn't be there to tell her, hell maybe to even tell myself, that she would be okay. Instead, I was forced to wait. This was all left into the hands of the medical staff and a higher being that I would gladly start believing in if she makes it out of this alive and okay.

No matter how much I try to wrap my head around today, it is still a jumbled mess. It felt like I was in a movie and now, it just feels like some really bad dream that I can't wake up from. Today was supposed to be one of those easy days. It was supposed to be a quick trip from Richmond into Mystic Falls and spend the weekend with our families. It should have been a normal day. But it was anything but. It had happened all so fast and I cant even begin to think about where it actually all went wrong. One moment we were laughing about something she had said and the next moment, we were on the opposite side of the street.

I hardly even remember the other car hitting us. But it was hard enough to cause Elena to hit her head hard and she was unconscious for some time. The whole thing had scared me to no end. My wife who was pregnant was in a wrecked car and the only thing that mattered was that they were okay. Right before the ambulance showed up, Elena had woken up and that had been the most relieved feeling I have ever felt. I had watched as she placed her hand on her stomach, not caring about what had happened to herself, the baby had mattered more.

I could see that she was clearly afraid, but a sigh of relief had passed her lips when she felt the baby move. "She's fine." She said before she had repeated it again. And that was all I needed to hear. But somewhere between them being fine and the trip to the hospital to make sure our baby was in fact okay, things had changed quickly. And before we could even begin to process it anything at all, Elena was in labor.

It was the most fearful thing as well as the most exciting moment in our life. Despite the car accident, we were getting to meet the one person that we had been waiting for. This was the highlight of our now crazy day. She hadn't been in labor for long. Despite Elena being in pain and her idle threats of never having another kid, we had both been thrilled through the whole thing. Okay maybe I was more thrilled because I hadn't been the one in pain like she had.

Hearing our daughter's first cry was the best sound in the world. And with those cries, I was officially a father. It was the best feeling. She was perfect even though she was a few weeks early. She was healthy with her ten tiny fingers and toes. Elena had gotten to hold her for a moment and to see them together will be the one memory that I will never forget. It is officially etched into my memory and there is no force in this world that could take that away from me. My family had grown and I was the happiest man on the Earth.

That was until I noticed the change in Elena. The huge grin that had been on her face was gone and there was just something about the way that she had looked that was just not normal. It wasn't her. The doctor had noticed it as well and the nurse had quickly taken our daughter away from Elena. A moment later I was pushed out of the room and was forced to watch through the window as Elena began to crash. It took them a moment to realize the blinds had been opened before they closed them shut. I was forced to be left in the dark about anything that was going on with Elena.

A moment later, a nurse walked out with my daughter. She had told me that she would be waiting in the nursery. I could either follow her or stay here and wait to find out if Elena was alright. And that was exactly how I got here. I was stuck deciding on waiting to find out if my wife would be okay and leave my newborn daughter alone without her parents until I heard anything. Or I could follow that nurse and spend the first few minutes of my daughter's life while they care for Elena. I should go with the nurse and be with my little girl, but at the same time, I couldn't get myself to leave my spot because I was afraid to leave Elena alone.

Sitting across from her room, I continuously watched that door to her room. I wanted it to open. I wanted someone to come out and tell me that she was fine. It still felt like forever just waiting for anything. When that door had finally opened, I had jumped up from where I was sitting and watched as the nurses had started walking out. I didn't know what to feel when I saw the doctor walk out. I didn't know if I should be relieved that they were finally coming out, or if I should be completely worried that I was about to get the 'we tried everything' speech. I wasn't ready for that. I don't think I could ever be ready for that. But when his mouth opened, I braced myself for what ever words were about to come out of his mouth.

I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that no matter what words came out of his mouth, my life was about to change. My future with the now two most important people in my life was about to change in some way. Can anyone ever really be ready for something they don't know yet even though they try to mentally prepare themselves?


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello readers! I do apologize for the wait on getting the next chapter out. The end of the year was chaotic and since it is after the new year, things are finally slowing down just where I need them to be. I've gotten a chance to actually sit down and write! Hopefully I will be able to get chapters out faster than I have been. I do not plan on abandoning this story for any reason and I cannot wait for you all to see what I have in store for you with this story.**

 **Onto the reviews!**

 **SuSU12, I do plan on mentioning their past quite a bit in future chapters. There has got to be something to help Damon get through this tough time. Even if its the memories of their past**

 **Imarifirst, I dont believe in sad endings unless it is one of those stories that absolutely need them. At this moment, I do not have a single plan for a sad ending anytime soon. The ending, I hope is still quite some time away.**

 **jairem, the baby (which you guys will find out her name in this chapter), is going to help Damon in ways that he's not going to expect it. Even though she is a baby, this little girl is one of the major characters in this story.**

 **Guest, I do know it is sad. But soon...maybe... things will get better.**

 **Happy reading**

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I had thought it was all so simple to do. Hell, it should have been easy enough to get myself back into my own body. But it was no where as easy as I thought it was. No matter how many times I told and yelled at myself to get back into my body and wake up, it just wasn't happening. There was nothing I could do to get me back where I needed to be. That is when I begin to worry.

Time was ticking and there is only so much time they can try and resuscitate me. Panic had began to set inside of me and I was wanted nothing more than to slap my own body to wake up. Believe me, I tried. I tried reaching past the nurses and the doctors to slap my face to get some kind of response out of my body, but as any ghost-like being does, my hand simply went through my body. For as many movies I had seen that had anything to do with out of body experiences, nothing was happening. No matter how much I yelled at my body or tried even thinking of going into back into my body, nothing worked. And that had me worried to no end.

I paced along the wall and every few seconds I looked over at the everyone as they continued to work. I know it felt like hours watching them as they switched between compressions and the defibrillator, but in reality it was only seconds. Seconds that were growing into minutes. Even I felt myself giving up. I felt that there was nothing that could be done, to get me to wake up.

"Come on Elena." I heard one of the Doctors say before placings the paddles down on my body again and calling 'Clear'. I had watched the monitor as everyone else did and nothing changed.

I leaned up against the wall and slid down to the floor. This was it, wasn't it? I was going to die here and the last 25 years would mean very little now. All the plans I had for my life were ending now. And no matter how much I tired to stay positive, I couldn't wrap my head around how real this really was. This wasn't a dream. This was real and there was a possibility that this was where everything ends.

"Come on, Elena. Your daughter is going to need you." The words alone caused my head to shoot up and look towards them all. In the time that I had been in this ghost world, I had forgotten all about the daughter I had just given birth to. I wondered for a moment where she was. I knew Damon had never left his spot outside the door, but where was she? How was she? Who was with her? So many thoughts had passed through my mind at the moment.

Even though I wanted, more like needed, to know where my baby was, there was something else more important. I needed to live. I needed to wake up. I needed to get better for my daughter that way I can raise her. I didn't want my daughter to be motherless.

The moment the pads went down again and the doctors said 'clear' I felt a slight shock go through me. I looked up at the monitors at the same time the others did and seen what everyone else had been hoping to see on the screen for the last few minutes. A heart beat, a strong one at that.

"There we go." A nurse said as she looked down at my body. "She just needed a reminder of who needs her." I watched as she ran her gloved hand through my hair and there was a relief in me when I faintly felt the motion itself.

"Let's get her cleaned up." The doctor said as he began pulling off his gloves. "I want a complete work up on her. She was in a car accident before arriving, I want to know the full extent of injuries. Internal and external." I watched the everyone nod as some of them began to clean me up and the others started to leave the room.

I stood at the foot of the bed and looked at myself for a moment. I still didn't understand how I was here and not in my own body. I should be sleeping right? I should be somewhere in my head dreaming. But I was still here outside of my body. This was still weird to me. I just hoped that when I did wake up, nothing would seem different.

"Is she okay?" A male's voice asked and I couldn't help but turn around quickly. I'd know that voice anywhere. It was Damon's and he sounded so worried. Walking over to the open door, I seen him standing next to the doctor. He looked as worried as he sounded. The last time I had seen Damon that worried was after we had a huge fight a few years ago. But now, it was a lot worse and I knew it was because there was a possibility of losing me.

"She's stable." The doctor said with a nod. "I'm going to have some tests done, to see the extent of her injuries that she sustained during the accident." I watched as Damon nodded slightly.

"Is the accident the reason that happened?" Damon asked.

"That we cant be sure of. " The doctor said shaking his head slightly. "Her injuries could have been bad from the accident, but with all the adrenaline she had, it could have stopped her from feeling anything at that point. "

Damon ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "These tests will help her?"

"They will tell us if there is anything wrong with your wife." That answer seemed to help Damon calm down a bit. A nurse walked over to them.

"They are ready for her in CT." She said with a nod. The doctor nodded before looking at Damon and placing his hand on Damon's shoulder.

"We'll find out what is going on. Until then, you should go see your daughter." There was a light that lit in Damon's eyes at the mention of our daughter.

"You're right." Damon said sighing. "She's been by herself."

"I'll let you know when the results come back." The doctor said with a nod. Damon nodded and stepped back with the Doctor as the nurses began to wheel out the gurney with my body in it. Both Damon and I watched as the nurses pushed my body down the hall and around the corner. The doctor followed after, leaving Damon alone.

Even though I was standing right there, Damon was alone. He couldn't see me or even feel me as I tried placing my hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him. It wasn't enough to tell him I was actually there with him. He looked so lost and I understood exactly why. This as tough for him. This wasn't how things were supposed to go today. We were supposed to be in Mystic Falls, not here.

Damon had only stood there for a moment before he started walking toward the nurses station. I heard him ask where the nursery was and the nurse had gave the directions he needed to find our daughter. I followed him until we reached the nursery. He stood outside the viewing window searching for our daughter until his eyes landed on the corner bassinet. I watched as his eyes lit up and a small smile formed on his lips as he watched her.

She was beautiful. She was the perfect mix of both of us. Seeing her sleeping there had given me some relief. Despite her being two weeks early, she looked absolutely healthy in every way possible. I wanted so badly to reach out and hold her or even touch her. But as a ghost, if that is even what I am, it was impossible to do so.

"Damon." A male voice called and we both turned to find Stefan running towards Damon. Damon moved away from the window and greeted his brother with a hug. "I came as soon I heard."

For a moment I had wondered when Damon had actually taken the time to call Stefan but then I realized that he had done that during the ambulance ride over. It was the same time that I had been calling my parents to let them know where I was headed to. At the time, I was alive. Now... I know my body is breathing but I don't know what you would actually call me.

"Have you seen her parents yet?" Damon asked as he pulled out of the hug.

"They are downstairs." Stefan said. Stefan had taken a good look at Damon. Noticing his expressions, Stefan knew there was something going on. "Is she okay?"

I watched as Damon sighed and shook his head slightly. "They are running some tests on her to make sure everything is fine."

"What happened?" Stefan asked looking concern for Damon.

"She was fine one moment and then things changed." Damon sighed again. There was a look in his eyes that told me he was fighting back tears.

"And the baby?" Stefan asked looking towards the window they were now standing next to.

"She's fine." Damon said with a small smile on his face. He turned back to the nursery window and pointed out our daughter to him.

A smile formed on Stefan's lips as he looked at her and I couldnt help but grin. That was my little girl right there and to see her create smiles on the faces of our loved ones with everything that was going on with me made all of this just a bit easier to bare.

"What is my niece's name?" Stefan asked looking at Damon for only a second before looking back at her.

I looked over at Damon hoping that after all of this, he would remember the name we had picked out weeks ago for her. I watched as he opened his mouth for a moment and closed it before looking over at our daughter.

"You know what her name is supposed to be." I said even though I knew they couldn't hear me. I took a step closer to the window and smiled at my baby. "Her name definitely fits her."

"Tell me you two had a name picked out for her." Stefan said looking back at Damon.

"We did." Damon and I said at the same time. I looked over at both of them and watched as Damon sighed.

"Elena wanted to be the one to announce her name." Both Stefan and I frowned at that. I forgot that had been what I wanted to do. I had planned to be sitting in my hospital bed with my daughter in my arms and introducing her to the family. It had been hard keeping her name a secret since we picked it out.

"Elena wouldn't want your daughter to remain nameless while all of this is going on." Stefan had a point. I didn't want her to just be Baby Salvatore as it was written on the card on her bassinet.

"Just tell him, Damon." I said taking a step closer to him hoping that he would feel, or at least I hoped he would feel that I was standing right there next to him. "Really, she even needs to know what her name is."

"Evelyn Grace." Damon said as he looked over at Evelyn with a smile.

"That is a beautiful name." All three of us turned to find my mother standing there. As any scared child would, I wanted to run to my mom and just hug her tightly while she told me everything was going to be fine. That somehow all of this wasn't a bad thing. That me being here meant that I'd somehow come out stronger. But seeing as no one can see me or hear me... it made me practically running up to her pointless.

"Isobel." Damon said with a small smile. My mom and Damon had grown a bond recently, which I was very happy about. Damon was the son she never had and she accepted and agreed with our relationship since the beginning.

"Damon." She pulled him into a hug and I watched as he hugged her back before she pulled away and walked to the window. A grin formed on her lips as she looked at Evelyn. "She is a beauty. But I have to ask, why isn't she with Elena?" Damon and Stefan exchanged a quick look before Damon looked back at mom. How exactly was he going to explain to her that my body was currently up being scanned from head to toe or even the little fact that my heart stopped beating for a moment. I watched as my mom caught the look between the two brothers. I could see worry fill her eyes as she stepped away from the window. "Tell me that child is not motherless."

My heart broke at the words that came out of her mouth. I could even see how they had affected Damon. The thought of me not being there for Evelyn scared the shit out of me. Knowing Damon, not having me there scared him as well.

"She's stable." Damon started to say and my mom started shaking her head in disbelief. "They have her up in CT trying to find out what is going on."

"What the hell happened Damon?" I could see the fear in my mother's eyes and for the first time since being this ghost, I wished they could see me. I wished that there was just some way to tell them that I was right there with them.

"Yes, please do explain what exactly happened to my daughter." My father's tone was anything but friendly. It was always that way when him and Damon were in the same room. I could only watch as he already was blaming Damon for what happened. I moved to stand next to Damon. I needed him to know that everything would be okay.

"Blaming me wont get the answers you want John." Damon said and it had made me smile up at him. Between these two, there was always tension and was never good. My dad only tolerated Damon simply because we were together. In all honesty, if there currently wasn't a wedding band on our fingers, my dad would have asked Damon to leave the moment he arrived at the hospital.

"That's hard to do seeing a you aren't currently on a bed yourself and my daughter is somewhere getting tests done."

"John, that is enough!" My mom said taking a step towards my dad. Damon had shook his head and I knew what he was going to do next. He was going to walk away from them all and give himself some time to think.

I tried placing my hand on Damon's shoulder in hopes that he would feel it, but my hand just went through him. It was frustrating that I couldn't comfort him or have a few words with my dad that would surely put him in his place for the moment. I watched him shake his head and took a step when we all heard "Mr. Salvatore."

The doctor stood a few feet away and Damon had been quick to get over to his side. The doctor had looked between Damon and where everyone else stood before looking back at Damon. "We have her results back." I ran over to them, I needed to hear what was going on with me. Seeing Damon's face, I knew he was worried about what was going to be said.

"What did they show?" Damon asked.

"Elena sustained a head injury in the accident. While adrenaline and labor are what kept her alert the last few hours, once she was beginning to relax her brain decided it was time to shut down to try and heal itself." He may have been trying to tell Damon in the simplest way what was going on with me, I already knew what it meant for me.

"What does that mean for her?" There was still that worried tone in his voice and I wanted nothing more than to show him that I was right here.

"Your wife is in a coma."


End file.
